Senator Calls for Inquiry Into Black Hawk Crashes

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has called for an investigation into the “disturbing pattern of incidents involving the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.”

The incidents include three Army National Guard Black Hawk crashes since Dec. 2019 that claimed the lives of nine aviators.

Two have occurred in 2021 and remain under investigation. Three members of the Idaho Army Guard died Feb. 2 when their aircraft crashed near Boise, Idaho. Another deadly crash near Mendon, New York, took three New York Army Guard soldiers.

The December 2019 incident claimed three Minnesota Army Guardsmen. It was found to be caused by mechanical failure and human error, according to reports.

Gillibrand also cited an August 2020 crash that killed two members of the active-component Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, who were flying a MH-60, another Black variant.

“Three crashes involving the National Guard’s use of the UH-60 in just over a year raises significant concerns about a systemic issue with the Black Hawk helicopter operation cycle,” she said in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “The further case of the MH-60 crash raises additional questions that we urgently need answered.”

Gillibrand wants the Defense Department to “take all necessary steps to promptly investigate these incidents to determine if they fit a larger pattern of malfunction with the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.”

She also wants the Pentagon to brief Congress on the findings of the investigation; any “mechanical, software, electrical, or other problems” found on the UH-60; and DoD plans to rectify issues.